Calendar: Time to Make Outdoor Plans, Finally

Amazing what a couple of days above freezing will do for everyone’s disposition!

Whether it’s planning some fun runs, mussing about among the cherry blossoms or gearing up for the return of the Washington Nationals, it’s nice to be able to go outside without cold weather gear, finally.

Run, Run, Run

One of the biggest outdoor activities of the season brings together not just the Cherry Blossom Festival crowds but members of Congress and the physically fit. April 6 is the annual Congressional Federal Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, a massive foot race that raises money for charity that contains the Capitol Hill Competition race-within-the-race. Race organizers on April 3 will present the a check to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in Room HVC-200 at the Capitol Visitor Center. Expect current and former members of Congress to attend. Congressional Federal CEO Charles A. Mallon Jr., is touting the 41 senators and 189 House members who are serving as honorary co-chairs of the race, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio. The event starts at 10 a.m. Capitol Hill Competition runners can pick up their race packets from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the same room.

In other race-related news, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Aaron Schock, R-Ill., lend some Congress-power to the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure media kickoff on April 2 at the Brown Memorial AME Church and 14th and North Carolina avenues, Northeast. They’ll participate in a breast cancer survivor roundtable with Susan G. Komen CEO Judy Salerno, members of the DC Pink Divas, a breast health awareness group and others. The race is May 10.

Opening Day!

If perchance you notice a spike in people playing hooky on April 4, look no further than Nationals Park. After a long (long, long) winter, baseball has returned to the District. The Nationals open the season on the road in New York with a series against the Mets, but they head back south and home on the 4th to take on the hated Braves. Expect firetrucks, racing presidents an alarming number of school-age children, working-age adults and plenty of hot dog and beer consumption. The home opener starts at 1:05 p.m. The next day’s game is a night game slated for 7:05 p.m. and the April 6 game is a 1:35 p.m. affair.

Book Nook

If it’s the printed word, not the pavement or baseball diamond you crave, you’re still in luck. Politics and Prose rounds out the week with a couple of high-profile readings. Todd S. Purdum, previously of the New York Times, currently of Politico, is reading and signing “An Idea Whose Time Has Come,” an account of the battles over the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the P&P mothership at 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW on April 4 at 7 p.m. Free. Down in Foggy Bottom the same day and at the same time, Michael Lewis will discuss his new book, “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt” at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium with Andrew Sullivan of the Dish. To purchase tickets, go to the Politics & Prose website here.

Comment (1)

Henry Ko

March 30, 2014
5:53 p.m.

With moral legal principles as the basis for general rules of law that minimize coercion, government actions become more predictable.

Roll Call Video Picks

About Roll Call After Dark

Roll Call After Dark is about what Washington does when it's not at work.

The District of Columbia is a cultural capital where you can you get your kicks from movies projected on the National Mall, lectures on vermouth or Russian avant-garde art. There's always something to do.

Jason Dick is the Hill Life editor for Roll Call and has also worked at Greenwire, CongressDaily and National Journal Daily during his time in Washington. @jasonjdick